United Nations S/2008/695
Security Council Distr.: General
10 November 2008
Original: English
Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed
conflict in Afghanistan
Summary
The present report, which has been prepared pursuant to Security Council
resolution 1612 (2005), is presented to the Council and its Working Group on
Children and Armed Conflict as the first country report on the situation of children
and armed conflict in Afghanistan. The report covers the period from 1 July 2007 to
15 August 2008.
The report focuses on grave violations perpetrated against children in
Afghanistan and identifies parties to the conflict, both State and non-State actors,
who commit grave abuses against children. In particular, the report highlights the
fact that children have been recruited and utilized by State and non-State armed
groups and that non-State armed groups such as the Taliban continue to train and use
children as suicide bombers. The report sheds light on the detention of children
accused of association with armed groups by the Government of Afghanistan, and
international military forces in violation of Afghan law and international best
practice. The report also discusses the worrisome increase in the number of children
victims of attacks against schools and communities by non-State armed groups,
including the ever increasing number of children inadvertently killed during
engagements by international and Afghan forces. Finally, the report surveys the need
for greater attention to the problem of sexual violence against children, in particular
against boys, in the context of the ongoing armed conflict in Afghanistan.
The report acknowledges the significant challenges in addressing child rights
violations in Afghanistan and outlines a series of recommendations to end the
recruitment and use of children as well as other grave violations of children’s rights.
It recommends that all parties to the conflict facilitate access to their areas of
operation and ensure the safety of staff for monitoring and reporting purposes. It asks
the United Nations, in consultation with the Government of Afghanistan and
international forces, to investigate ways and means of extending monitoring and
reporting to hitherto inaccessible conflict areas of Afghanistan.
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I. Introduction
1. The present report, prepared pursuant to Security Council resolution 1612
(2005), covers the period from 1 July 2007 to 15 August 2008 and highlights trends
and patterns of violations committed against children in the context of the armed
conflict in Afghanistan. The establishment of a monitoring and reporting mechanism
in Afghanistan was supported by President Hamid Karzai, and endorsed on 28 July
2008 by the United Nations country team, based on the recommendations of the
country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting, which was set up on 27 July
2008. The report identifies parties to the conflict responsible for grave violations
and abuses committed against children covered under the monitoring and reporting
mechanism endorsed by the Security Council in its resolution 1612 (2005) and
highlights avenues for reinforced and targeted monitoring as well as interventions
that might be developed to prevent violence and respond to the needs of the victims.
It also contains a number of recommendations with a view to securing strengthened
action for the protection of war-affected children in Afghanistan. Although the
country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting was as thorough as possible in
preparing this first report, gaps in data are inevitable given the difficulties in
documenting and investigating, the lack of access and the limited time available.
II. Political, military and social developments in Afghanistan
A. Background on latest developments relating to the conflict
2. The Taliban emerged in 1994 from southern Afghanistan and launched an
armed movement against the various factions that were then fighting each other.
After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 1996, most of these factions joined together
as the Northern Alliance and continued to resist the Taliban. By September 2001, the
Taliban controlled approximately 90 per cent of the country. During its regime, in
areas under its control, the Taliban interpreted religious and tribal law in their most
ultra-conservative forms, thereby trampling women’s rights and denying education
to children. At the same time, the country became a haven for activity of
international groups using terror tactics, including Al-Qaida.
3. In November 1999, the Security Council, by its resolution 1267 (1999),
introduced mandatory sanctions against key members of the Taliban and Al-Qaida.
Following the events of 11 September 2001, international military forces entered
Afghanistan in October 2001 and removed the Taliban from power. Afghan political
movements met in Bonn, Germany, in December 2001 at a conference held under
the auspices of the United Nations, which resulted in the establishment of an interim
administration, led by Hamid Karzai, who was declared President for six months.
President Karzai’s term was extended during the emergency Loya Jirga held in June
2002. On 6 December 2001, the Security Council, in its resolution 1383 (2001),
endorsed the Bonn agreement, which authorized the establishment of the
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to help the transitional government
maintain security. On 22 March 2002, the Security Council, by its resolution 1401
(2002), established the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
(UNAMA). The Bonn agreement also provided for the creation of a new
constitution, which was adopted by the constitutional Loya Jirga in January 2004.
Presidential elections on 9 October 2004 resulted in the election of Hamid Karzai,
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by 55.4 per cent of the vote. Parliamentary elections held in September 2005 led to
the establishment of the 249-seat National Assembly, which was inaugurated in
December 2005, marking the formal conclusion of the Bonn political process.
4. Despite the significant progress on the political front, the Afghan Government
is faced with ongoing opposition from the Taliban and other groups. In the course of
2008, the security situation has deteriorated further. While the main focus of the
insurgency remains the southern and eastern parts of the country, where it has
historically been strong, insurgent influence has intensified in areas that were
previously relatively calm, including in the provinces closest to Kabul. The number
of security incidents rose to 983 in August 2008, the highest number since the fall of
the Taliban in 2001, representing a 44 per cent increase compared with the same
month in 2007. While armed clashes between Afghan and international security
forces on the one hand and insurgents on the other have continued to increase in
number and intensity, asymmetric attacks carried out by the Taliban have increased
to an even greater degree.
5. In March 2008, the Security Council extended the mandate of UNAMA. In its
resolution 1806 (2008) the Council reiterated its concern about civilian casualties as
well as the recruitment and use of children by Taliban forces. The Council also
recalled the importance of implementing resolution 1612 (2005) in Afghanistan and
requested the strengthening of the child protection component of UNAMA. The
Council also called upon UNAMA to strengthen cooperation with ISAF. On 6 March
2008, I appointed Mr. Kai Eide as my Special Representative for Afghanistan.
B. Armed forces and armed groups operating in Afghanistan
1. Afghan National Security Forces
6. Afghanistan ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994. The
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement
of children in armed conflict was signed and ratified on 23 September 2003. The
Parliament has yet to ratify the 1999 Convention concerning the Prohibition and
Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour
(Convention No. 182) of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The
minimum age of recruitment into the Afghan National Security Forces, composed of
the bodies described below, is 18 years.
Afghan National Army
7. The Afghan National Army, created in 2002 and now more than 58,000 strong,
has already deployed 72 per cent of its personnel. In September 2008, the Afghan
Minister of Defence proposed an increase in the force strength to 122,000 and an
extended deployment time frame to 2012 in order to cope with the anticipated threat
level in the country.
Afghan National Police
8. The Afghan National Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the
Government of Afghanistan. In May 2007, the size of the force was increased to
82,000 from 62,000 in response to increased demand for policing as a result of
rising insurgency and law enforcement obligations. There is a high casualty rate in
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the force, with approximately 1,119 members of the force killed between March
2007 and March 2008.
Afghan National Auxiliary Police
9. The Afghan National Auxiliary Police was created as a temporary force to
assist the Afghan National Police with its counter-insurgency activities. As of
December 2007, the total strength of the Auxiliary Police stood at 10,895, although
its sanctioned strength is 11,271. Through the focused districts development
programme in selected areas, the force should be integrated into the Afghan
Uniform Police, which is part of the Afghan National Police, the main civil police
force.
National Directorate of Security
10. The National Directorate of Security is the intelligence agency of the
Government of Afghanistan. It is one of the largest security sector agencies
operating under a still classified decree. The Directorate exercises extensive powers,
including for detaining, interrogating and investigating, prosecuting and sentencing
people alleged to have committed crimes against national security, and it also takes
part in military-related operations.
2. Anti-government elements
Taliban
11. Although the Taliban has carried out attacks in other provinces, its focus is
largely concentrated in the south and east of the country. The group, led by Mullah
Muhammad Omar, is the largest and allegedly the most organized of the armed
groups operating in the country and, as with other armed groups operating in
Afghanistan, it utilizes terror tactics against both military and civilian targets.
Haqqani network
12. The Haqqani network, led by Jalaluddin Haqqani, a former adviser to Mullah
Omar of the Taliban, is closely linked to that group and is operative especially in the
eastern provinces of Khost and Paktya. The Haqqani network is suspected of having
masterminded the attack on Kabul’s Serena Hotel in January 2008, the attack on a
military parade during a ceremony at Kabul Stadium in April 2008 and the attack on
the Indian Embassy in July 2008.
Hezb-i-Islami
13. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is the leader of Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin, a group that is
mostly active in the east of Afghanistan and in the provinces surrounding Kabul.
The group focuses its military operations on suicide attacks and attacks on the
Afghan National Security Forces and international forces.
Jamat Sunat al-Dawa Salafia
14. Jamat Sunat al-Dawa Salafia is an Islamic fundamentalist group led by Hajir
Ruhollah. The network’s activities are very limited because of the tension between
this group and Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin. As a result, the Salafists are only present in
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parts of Kunar and Nuristan provinces. In general, the group focuses its military
operations on actions against international military forces.
3. Other armed groups
Illegal armed groups
15. The Afghan Government’s disbandment of illegal armed groups programme
targets the estimated 1,800 illegal armed groups active in the country, which still
possess approximately 336,000 weapons. In addition to the risk represented by those
weapons, the armed groups represent an obstacle to the restoration of the rule of
law. Some factions targeted by the countrywide demobilization, disarmament and
reintegration programme have neither been fully disarmed nor mainstreamed into
the regular political system. As a result, several armed groups remain heavily
involved in illegal activities such as narcotics and weapons trafficking.
4. International military forces
International Security Assistance Force
16. Under the command of NATO, ISAF is a multinational force composed of
soldiers from 40 troop-contributing nations acting under Chapter VII of the Charter
of the United Nations. The Security Council, by its resolution 1510 (2003),
authorized the expansion of the ISAF mandate to support the Afghan Transitional
Authority and its successors in the maintenance of security in areas of Afghanistan
outside of Kabul and its environs. ISAF is currently composed of approximately
52,700 soldiers organized into 18 brigades, one Marine Expeditionary Unit,
26 provincial reconstruction teams and other elements. The Southern Region is the
strongest regional command, with 23,800 troops, followed by the Eastern Region
with 16,200 troops, the Central Region with 5,900, the Northern Region with 4,300
and the Western Region with 2,500 soldiers.
Operation Enduring Freedom
17. There are approximately 12,000 troops deployed within Operation Enduring
Freedom, led by the United States of America. These troops operate under separate
command from ISAF and are primarily focused on training and equipping the
Afghan National Security Forces and conducting operations throughout
Afghanistan.
III. Visit of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Children and Armed Conflict and the monitoring and
reporting mechanism
18. My Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Radhika
Coomaraswamy, accompanied by the Director of Emergency Operations of the
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Mr. Louis Georges, visited Afghanistan
from 28 June to 3 July 2008 at the invitation of the Government. The visit was
intended to establish the monitoring and reporting mechanism on grave violations
committed against children in armed conflict, pursuant to Security Council
resolution 1612 (2005), and to assess the impact of the conflict first hand. The
Special Representative visited Kabul, Jalalabad and Gardez and met with President
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Karzai, Ministers, officials of ISAF and the Combined Forces Command,
representatives of international agencies, international and Afghan non-governmental
organizations, religious leaders and a number of children and families affected by
the conflict.
19. The Special Representative expressed her concerns about reports of children
being used by anti-Government elements, the death and injury of children during the
fighting, the detention of children, sexual violence against children and the
continuing attacks on schools, teachers and schoolchildren. She also expressed
concern about the unintentional death of and injury to children as a result of the
operations of international military forces and the Afghan National Security Forces.
She stressed that United Nations monitoring agents should have unimpeded access
to all detention facilities where children are believed to be present, and that
“worrisome allegations about sexual violence against boys by armed actors should
also be confronted despite their sensitive nature”.
20. The first meeting of the country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting took
place on 27 July 2008, following the visit of the Special Representative. The
monitoring and reporting mechanism was endorsed by the United Nations country
team on 28 July, with the support of President Karzai. The task force is co-chaired
by UNAMA and UNICEF and its current members are the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Afghanistan
Independent Human Rights Commission has accepted an invitation to become a
member of the task force. Child protection actors outside the United Nations system
welcomed the establishment of the monitoring and reporting mechanism and are
currently discussing safe and appropriate ways to engage with it.
IV. Grave violations and abuses of children’s rights: incidents
and trends
21. Information and insights on the direct impact of the conflict on children in
Afghanistan is drawn from a variety of sources that undertake independent
investigations involving, where possible, victim and eye-witness accounts that are
cross-checked with other testimonies. However, given access and security issues,
not all incidents automatically come to the attention of child protection actors, nor
can they be independently investigated, meaning, in effect, that available data is
likely to underrepresent the actual impact of conflict on children. Furthermore,
notwithstanding ongoing efforts to address such limitations, much of available data
is not age and sex-disaggregated.
A. Recruitment and use of children by armed forces and
armed groups
22. Children have been used by all parties throughout the 30 years of armed
conflict in Afghanistan. Since the completion of the Government’s demobilization
and reintegration of 7,444 under-age soldiers in 2003, which did not, however, fully
disarm all factions, there has been no monitoring of children vulnerable to further
recruitment or re-recruitment. Allegations of recruitment of children by armed
groups have been received from all regions, particularly from the south, south-east
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and east. Under-age recruitment is also reported to be prevalent in some areas, with
high concentrations of returnees or internally displaced persons, including in areas
around internally displaced persons’ camps in Helmand and Kandahar provinces and
in Wardak and Ghazni provinces, both of which received a high number of returnees
during 2007. Recruitment of internally displaced and returnee children has not,
however, been specifically documented. The monitoring of such cases has not been
possible due to the growing insecurity and inaccessibility of certain areas to the
United Nations and implementing partners. Child recruitment, or the threat thereof,
has been reported as one of the causes for their displacement, for example by 10
families displaced from the Muqur district of Baghdis province to the Shaidaiee
internally displaced persons’ settlement in Herat province. Internally displaced
families also reported that the general threat of recruitment by armed groups is
higher “because the Taliban pay more than the police”.
23. A study of suicide attacks by UNAMA has documented cases of children who
have allegedly been used as suicide bombers by the Taliban. Most of these children
were between 15 and 16 years of age and were tricked, promised money or forced to
become suicide bombers. On 16 May 2008, a boy of approximately 12 years of age
approached a joint ISAF/Afghan National Army foot patrol in Panjwayi district,
Kandahar province spreading his hands. The suicide vest he carried is believed to
have been remotely detonated.
24. There are concerns that, due to a recruitment process that has insufficient age
determination procedures, there are children in the ranks of the Afghan National
Auxiliary Police. Children have allegedly been spotted among units sent ahead of
military operations in the Southern Region. These allegations have not been fully
verified. The country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting has documented
cases of children recruited by the Afghan National Police, including in the north,
south and south-east of the country. For example, in one northern province, seven
children aged 16 to 18 are working at the provincial headquarters of the Afghan
National Police, conducting regular policing tasks, including patrols, guarding
police posts or carrying out checkpoint duties. In the south, two 14-year-old boys
recruited into the Afghan National Police were successfully released after an
intervention with the authorities by child protection actors.
B. Children detained due to their alleged association with
armed groups
1. Detention by the authorities of Afghanistan
25. Particular incidents highlight several interconnected challenges: under-age
recruitment, insufficient age-verification procedures and poor treatment of detained
children due to their alleged association with armed groups. In a northern province,
a 17-year-old boy joined the Afghan National Police with a falsified identification
document. While on duty at a checkpoint that came under attack by the Taliban he
was taken hostage, but was later released after handing over his weapon to the
assailants. The child was later arrested and detained on grounds of having aided the
enemy. The age-verification procedure initiated by his lawyer proved that he was
under 18. While the lawyer argued that the child could only be tried in a juvenile
court, the military court proceeded. The boy was later acquitted.
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26. Since international military forces entered Afghanistan in 2001, an unknown
number of children have been captured and arrested by Afghan law enforcement
agencies and international military forces owing to their alleged association with
armed groups. Information received from the Ministry of Justice and protection
partners shows that from October 2007 to July 2008 at least 28 children were
detained on charges related to national security; all were male, the majority between
15 and 17 years of age at the time of their arrest, the youngest a 12-year-old. During
the reporting period, child protection actors have documented 13 such cases. The
detention of children for national security issues is in contravention of the
provisions of the Afghan juvenile code.
27. The sporadic access of monitoring bodies to detention facilities run by the
National Directorate of Security is of concern, particularly given the reports
received by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and UNAMA of
harsh treatment inflicted upon children. Full access to these facilities would allow
proper monitoring and permit appropriate interventions for the cases dealt with
outside the Afghan legislative framework. Indeed, while children in conflict with the
law must be referred to juvenile rehabilitation centres, children as young as 12 have
been detained by the National Directorate of Security. Most children reported no
access to legal assistance or legal documentation. Some reported that they had been
subjected to threats and ill-treatment while being interrogated for information about
their activities while associated with armed groups.
28. In addition, the situation of specific groups such as foreign children or children
surrendered to State authorities should be given specific attention. This is illustrated
in the case of two Pakistani boys who remained without contact with their families
for months. The country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting also documented
the case of a 15-year-old boy detained by the National Directorate of Security after
surrendering to the police. He had been lured by the Taliban into taking part in a
suicide operation. The boy is still detained, and has now spent more than five
months in the custody of the National Directorate of Security without appropriate
judicial follow-up.
2. Detention by international military forces
29. There are allegations of unlawful and arbitrary detention in facilities run by
international military forces, although reported cases of children being detained
remain limited. UNAMA and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
have tried with little success to gain access to such facilities, and have no access at
all to the “Theatre internment facility” at Bagram Airbase, headquarters of the
United States forces in Afghanistan. Allegations have been recorded of children kept
incommunicado, as substantiated by the case of a 17-year-old boy arrested during a
combined operation by the Afghan National Army and the United States-led
coalition. Reportedly detained by a United States provincial reconstruction team for
a month without access to a lawyer or contact with his family, he was subsequently
transferred to the National Directorate of Security before the Primary Court ordered
his release.
30. In its recent report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the
Child, the United States acknowledged that 10 children below the age of 18 were in
administrative detention at Bagram Airbase. The report also indicated that the
United States does not have a specific policy for dealing with juveniles arrested or
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detained as a result of the conflict. The report further states that eight Afghan
juveniles between 13 and 17 years of age have been held at Guantanamo Bay since
2002; six have been released and two face criminal charges, including charges of
war crimes. For example, Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen, faces charges for alleged
offences committed at age 15 in Afghanistan, purportedly as a child soldier. Khadr
was captured by United States forces after a firefight in July 2002. On 4 June 2007,
he was charged with war crimes before the United States military commission for
allegedly killing an American soldier. Despite his age at the time of the alleged
offences, international standards of juvenile justice were not applied. Khadr was
detained in Guantanamo Bay beginning in November 2002, where he was allegedly
subjected to abusive interrogations and prolonged solitary confinement. He has
since been released from solitary confinement. During the trial, the defence argued
that the United States should consider Khadr as a victim.
31. Human rights actors will seek collaboration with the international military
forces to ensure that children arrested due to alleged involvement with parties to the
conflict and detained, whether inside or outside Afghanistan, are dealt with
according to legal standards. This is to avoid breaching standards of justice for
children, as documented by various human rights organizations.
C. Killing and maiming of children
32. From August 2007 to July 2008, UNAMA recorded 1,722 civilian deaths as a
result of the conflict. The issue of civilian casualties, particularly child casualties,
continues to be of great concern. Below are some of the numerous incidents that
have affected children.
33. Children have been the victims of suicide attacks orchestrated by
anti-Government elements that primarily target national and international security
forces, governmental infrastructures and associated individuals. On 10 July 2007, in
Dehrawot district, Uruzgan province, a suicide attack, using a body-borne
improvised explosive device targeted an ISAF convoy, reportedly causing the death
of 12 schoolchildren. On 6 November 2007, a suicide bomber targeted a delegation
of Members of Parliament on a road in Pul-i-Khomri district, Baghlan province.
Police and bodyguards opened what appears to have been indiscriminate fire after
the explosion. Various independent reports indicate that among the dead were
52 schoolchildren and five teachers, out of approximately 70 persons. Around half
of the injured were said to be students. Although the exact number of casualties
caused by the shooting rather than by the explosion is undetermined, reports
confirmed that the casualty toll was aggravated by the fact that the police and
private security guards fired indiscriminately into the crowd. On 17 February 2008
in Kandahar province, 67 people, including six children, were killed and more than
90 wounded in a suicide bomb attack. On 7 July 2008, a vehicle-borne improvised
explosive device was used in an attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul, resulting in
the deaths of some 50 civilians, among whom were a number of children.
34. Children have been the unintentional victims of joint military operations
conducted by the Afghan National Security Forces and the international military
forces, including an incident on 6 April 2008 in Doab district, Nuristan province, in
which a joint operation of the international military forces and the Afghan National
Army reportedly resulted in at least 18 civilians killed, including 4 women and 7
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children, 15 injured, including 2 women and 3 children, and as many as 150 homes
destroyed. On 30 April 2008, in Kabul, a joint National Directorate of
Security/Afghan National Police force reportedly cordoned off a house where
anti-Government elements were hiding. As the anti-government elements attempted
to flee the area, two civilians, one woman and one child, were killed in the ensuing
firefight.
35. Civilian casualties, particularly child casualties, have been unintentionally
caused by aerial bombardments and ground attacks as a result of imprecise targeting
or mistaken identity. On 12 January 2008, in Tagab district, Kapisa province,
international military forces reportedly carried out two air attacks against a
compound allegedly housing a senior Taliban militant. In the first attack, two
children, aged 14 and 4, were killed. In a similar incident on 27 May 2008, as a
result of an air strike by international military forces in Manogay district, Kunar
province, 14 civilians, including 9 children were allegedly killed; 2 other children
were injured. According to international military forces, no civilian casualties were
recorded as precision munitions had been used; 7 alleged anti-Government elements
were killed. On 6 July 2008, in Dih Bala district, Nangahar province, it was alleged
by Afghan authorities that an air support operation by international military forces,
while attempting to target a suspected gathering of anti-Government forces, struck a
wedding procession resulting in the deaths of 47 civilians, including 30 children,
and injuries to 11 others.
36. Night searches and raids are a feature of international military activities.
However, it has been noted that the international military forces have adjusted their
procedures in order to minimize the killings of or injury to children. Yet children are
still victims of such operations. For example, on 3 February 2008, in Bakwa district,
Farah province, 11 civilians, including 3 children under 14 years of age, were
reportedly killed as a result of a night raid by forces of Operation Enduring Freedom
on an alleged hideout for anti-government elements. In another incident, on
19 March 2008, in Nadir Shah Kot district, Khost province, 6 civilians, including 2
children and a woman, were killed during a night raid purportedly carried out by
Operation Enduring Freedom.
D. Incidents related to unexploded ordinance and other explosive
remnants of war
37. An estimated 728 square kilometres of land, containing 5,027 hazardous areas
with anti-personnel and anti-tank mines and a large number of explosive remnants
of war from both the previous and current periods of conflict still require clearance,
particularly in the east, north and south-east regions.
38. During the reporting period, 81 children were killed and 332 sustained injuries
due to unexploded ordnance and explosive remnants of war. Eighty-nine per cent of
the victims were boys. The majority of these incidents were caused by unexploded
ordnance (36.6 per cent), anti-personnel mines (22.8 per cent) and anti-tank mines
(19.1 per cent). Improvised explosive devices, booby traps, cluster ammunition and
fuses are responsible for the remainder of incidents. For example, on 17 December
2007, in Tirin Kot, Uruzgan province, a family with 3 children was reportedly killed
when their motorcycle struck a roadside improvised explosive device. On 17 April
2008, 2 children were reportedly killed and 1 injured by the detonation of an
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unexploded ordnance (artillery shell) in district 17 in Kabul. On
27 May 2008, in Daman district, Kandahar province, 3 children were reportedly
killed when an improvised explosive device went off in a culvert close to where
they were playing.
E. Abduction of children
39. Very few cases of children having been abducted as a result of the conflict
have been documented. However, due to the security vacuum prevailing in some
areas, criminal kidnapping of children is reported frequently. In one case, anti-
government elements in the Western Region abducted the child of a Provincial
Prosecutor who had launched a criminal investigation against the group. The child
was killed soon after his abduction.
F. Attacks on schools and hospitals
1. Incidents involving the Taliban and anti-government elements affecting the
education sector
40. A primary analysis of the 722 incidents affecting education recorded by
UNICEF from 2004 to July 2008 reveals that the South is the most affected region:
230 of such incidents took place between July 2007 and June 2008 alone, an
escalation over previous years.
41. Acts of violence have historically targeted schools as representative of the
central Government or of perceived foreign interference, and the Taliban and its
proxies are reportedly responsible. Furthermore, the Taliban denied nearly all girls
the right to attend school while in power, a position they still brutally enforce. For
instance, while girls’ schools represent only 14.8 percent of the total number of
primary, secondary and high schools in Afghanistan, they are affected by some
50 per cent of the recorded incidents. From 22 to 28 April 2008 in Logar province,
four schools, including three girls’ schools, were burned by unidentified armed
elements.
42. The burning of schools is by far the most frequent type of incident carried out
on educational facilities. For example, in the capital of Logar province, from April
to May 2008, three schools were set on fire. In Kandahar city, three schools were
burned from January to March 2008. Threats against schools, staff, teachers, pupils
or parents often take the form of “night letters”, threatening notes or messages left
in public places at night, and are frequently attributed to the Taliban. For example,
during the summer of 2007, “night letters” were left in a school in Sari Pul province
demanding that teachers stop teaching girls, warning them that the Taliban would
soon return to power. Threats and attacks are also believed to target facilities built
by provincial reconstruction teams, as a result of which a significant number of such
facilities remain unused, including the Teacher Training Institute of Ghazni
province. Teachers and education personnel have also been victims of targeted
killings, as evidenced by the attacks in Jawzan province, in which the principal of a
primary girls’ school was shot dead in October 2007 and, in Kunduz province, in
which two teachers were killed in May 2008. These cases, which are currently under
police investigation, are attributed to anti-government elements, but no further
action has been taken to date.
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43. Schools have been targeted for armed attacks and improvised explosive
devices and other explosive devices have been placed in or around them. Schools
have also been affected by military interventions taking place in the vicinity,
sometimes resulting in the killing or injury of teachers and pupils. For example, in
Kapisa province in June 2008, an artillery shell fired by international military forces
landed in a school compound, killing a boy. Checkpoints, police posts or military
camps established by parties to the conflict within the immediate vicinity of
educational facilities have also affected school security. In Wardak province in June
2008, one student was killed and four others injured as a result of an armed
altercation between the Afghan National Police and alleged members of the Taliban
near their school.
Table 1
Percentage of incidents affecting boys’, girls’ and coeducational schools
West
South
East
Central
North
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Girls’ schools
Girls’ school Boys’ schools
Boys’ school Coeducational schools
Coeducational school
2. Incidents involving the Taliban and anti-government elements affecting the
health sector
44. WHO and UNICEF have recorded incidents related to the armed conflict
affecting the health sector, including operations carried out by anti-government
elements against health centres, threats, killings and injury of staff, looting of
facilities, forced closure of centres and programmes, and intimidation of
organizations supporting health programmes. WHO reports that dozens of health
workers have been abducted and/or killed in the past two years throughout the
country. For example, in June 2008 armed elements in one northern province shot a
doctor and a security guard dead in a medical clinic run by an international
non-governmental organization.
45. Health facilities are not protected from the direct impact of military
operations. In May 2008, for instance, in Farah province, the headquarters of the
Afghan National Police was reportedly attacked by armed elements using rocket-
propelled grenades. A nearby health clinic was damaged during the crossfire. In
June 2008, one of two rockets fired towards Asadabad city, Kunar province, by
suspected members of the Taliban hit the public hospital, killing one person and
injuring two. The use of health facilities by the Afghan National Security Forces,
including the one occupied by the Afghan National Police since the spring of 2008
in Kandahar province, is likely to complicate the security of these facilities in the
conflict.
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46. The deteriorating security situation has prompted Afghan health officials to
shut down some 36 health facilities in the southern and eastern provinces, depriving
hundreds of thousands of children of basic health services. The Ministry of Public
Health stated in May 2008 that more than 360,000 people in Helmand, Kandahar,
Farah, Zabul and Paktika provinces have been deprived of health services due to
insecurity. For instance, the closure of the Khairkhana Basic Health Centre in
Badghis province in mid-July 2008 by anti-government elements, affected some
30,000 persons. The current insecurity is also hampering vital polio eradication
efforts, as demonstrated by the 15 new cases reported to date in 2008. In Kandahar
province, four incidents by Taliban elements against vaccinators took place on
2 August 2008, the second day of the campaign.
47. These incidents also affect efforts to expand the number of women health
professionals throughout the country. Less than 30 per cent of health facilities have
a female health worker reflecting the difficulty of recruiting qualified female staff
and the problems faced by female workers operating in rural or insecure areas. As
the major portion of the population of working women in the country, female health
staff are particularly vulnerable to intimidation and threats from the Taliban and
other conservative elements. The absence of female staff directly affects the
delivery of child and maternal health services as women are reluctant to seek care
from male health professionals.
G. Sexual violence perpetrated against children
48. There are a number of substantive reports of children, especially boys, being
sexually abused and exploited by members of the armed forces and armed groups.
For example, two police officers in a south-eastern province who were arrested after
the intervention of child protection actors for sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy
were released after allegedly bribing the authorities. In a similar incident, in the
north, a 16-year-old boy reportedly recruited into the Afghan National Army after
providing a falsified identity document was subsequently sexually abused by two
soldiers. There is insufficient protection for victims of or witnesses to violence, and
very few cases reach the prosecution stage. Fear of violent retaliation against
victims and families was cited as a factor by reliable sources. In addition, given the
lack of specific legislation on the subject of sexual violence, victims are often
arrested and charged with adultery.
49. While most of the victims do not wish their experience to be reported, it is
possible to discuss certain incidents involving personnel of the Afghan National
Security Forces where the cases were appropriately dealt with by the authorities. For
instance, a member of the Afghan National Army active in northern Afghanistan
raped an 11-year-old girl and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by a military
court in early 2008. A 12-year-old boy and an adult male relative employed in a
police post who were sexually abused by three police officers over an unknown
period of time filed a complaint with the support of the Child Protection Action
Network. The perpetrators were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. In a southern
province, a 16-year-old boy, stopped on the pretext of an identity check by a police
officer, was subsequently raped. He reported the abuse to service providers who
helped him to file a complaint. The case is being prosecuted.
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50. Violence against children, specifically of a sexual nature, occurs particularly
during times of instability. The practice of “bacha baazi” (boy-play) consists of
boys kept cloistered and used for sexual and harmful social entertainment by
warlords and other armed group leaders. This practice, like any violence against
children, is strongly condemned by Islam and by all religious and by governmental
as well as cultural leaders. Prosecution of a small number of cases has been
confirmed by the country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting, and more
initiatives, including studies on the issue of child sexual abuse, are being developed.
However, law enforcement officials and human rights activists highlighted
difficulties in preventing the practice, addressing the violence and prosecuting the
perpetrators more consistently.
H. Denial of humanitarian access to children
51. Humanitarian access has become increasingly restricted in conflict-affected
areas owing to the activities of anti-government elements. The United Nations has
now designated 79 districts as “extreme risk” areas that are inaccessible to
programme delivery by United Nations agencies. During the reporting period, the
Afghan NGO Safety Office reported 71 incidents against non-governmental
organizations attributed to anti-government elements, including beatings, searches,
threats and abductions, as well as attacks using explosives/improvised explosive
devices, mortars, missiles and other arms. Attacks against humanitarian workers by
anti-government elements have increased and many aid agencies have restricted the
scale and scope of their operations as a result. Since 2003, 38 staff have been killed
and 47 injured. During the reporting period alone, 10 staff have been killed and 20
injured. The assassination of three international aid workers and one national staff
of the International Rescue Committee on 13 August 2008 in Logar province,
responsibility for which has been claimed by the Taliban, is the most recent episode.
This has also adversely affected demining efforts, particularly in the south and
south-east.
52. While severe drought and an increase in food prices have had a dramatic
impact on the lives of millions of Afghans, especially children, insecurity further
jeopardizes the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance. In many provinces
where road transport firms refuse to risk attacks, the World Food Programme (WFP)
has not been able to send sufficient quantities of supplies for its programmes,
including its “food-for-education” operation, which benefits about 1.5 million
school children on a daily basis. For instance, on 24 July 2008, in Farah province,
49 trucks were attacked by armed elements; over 320 metric tons of food, enough to
feed about 38,400 people for a month, was looted. On 29 July 2008, WFP
announced that 300,000 students from the southern provinces had not received its
assistance, mainly due to insecurity.
53. Insecurity has also impeded the provision of assistance to families recently
returned from Pakistan or deported from the Islamic Republic of Iran to areas that
are inaccessible to humanitarian personnel, including the 83,000 refugees returned
from Pakistan in 2007 and the approximately 5,000 Afghan families deported from
the Islamic Republic of Iran who have mostly resettled in Farah and Nimruz
provinces.
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V. Dialogue and action plans to redress violations and abuses
committed against children
54. Experience and expertise in the monitoring of child rights violations in the
context of the armed conflict has been limited to date. Existing human and child
rights monitoring and investigation activities have been obstructed by the lack of
safe access to conflict-affected areas and numerous acts of violence committed
against aid workers by anti-government elements. In this vein, there is a need for the
United Nations in Afghanistan to engage in an open discussion with the Government
on the need for a strategy which recognizes that it is imperative for the United
Nations country team to engage in action plans with all parties to conflict to end the
practice of child soldiering in Afghanistan as spelled out in Security Council
resolutions 1539 (2004) and 1612 (2005). Furthermore, the members of the country
Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting should, in the coming three months, devise
a plan of how, in the light of the prevailing deteriorating security situation, they
might interface with the Government, international military forces and other
relevant parties in the field to devise a system of alert and access for monitoring and
verification in areas where the United Nations and its partners have little or no
access.
VI. Follow-up and programmatic response to violations and
abuses committed against children
55. Afghanistan is a party to most of the major international human rights treaties.
Since 2002, the country has adopted legislative changes relevant to the well-being
of children. The Technical Advisory Group on Women and Children in Justice and
the Criminal Law Committee of the Law Reform Technical Working Group,
supported, inter alia, by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, are
specifically dealing with juvenile justice policies and programmes and are being
mobilized to work on children in armed conflict-related legal reforms. A number of
other initiatives are in place to address the violations and abuses committed against
children’s rights, as described below.
A. Recruitment and use of children by armed forces and
armed groups
56. Under the monitoring and reporting mechanism there will be a discussion of
the possible revitalization of community networks involved in the disarmament,
demobilization and reintegration of children. In addition, the UNICEF offices in
Afghanistan and Pakistan held a meeting in July 2008 at which they reviewed cross-
border concerns related to children associated with armed groups and armed forces.
57. Child protection actors have welcomed juvenile-specific provisions, including
on offences relating to children associated with armed groups, in the law on
combating terrorist offences adopted in 2008. The law states that when an offence
has been committed by individuals below the age of 18, the 2005 juvenile code will
apply. In January 2008, UNICEF began a capacity-building initiative for local
non-governmental organizations active in the field of human rights to develop a
monitoring system aimed at reducing the unlawful detention of children. In June
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2008, UNICEF initiated a dialogue with the National Directorate of Security to
ensure due process for all juveniles and the implementation of the juvenile
protection measures of the new anti-terrorist law.
B. Killing and maiming of children
58. Efforts to underline the importance of independent monitoring have gained
increased attention. At a meeting on the protection of civilians held in August 2007
ISAF acknowledged that mistakes had been made during operations, noting that, in
addition to specialized training of all ground forces to promote observance of
principles applicable in armed conflict, a review of its standard operating
procedures was in progress, including mechanisms to share information on civilian
casualties arising from its operations. The Afghan Government and ISAF have
reportedly adjusted tactics and have used internal and external investigative
mechanisms. While positive, the effectiveness of these initiatives needs to be fully
assessed, in particular the inclusion of provisions specific to children.
59. More effective coordination between the national and international security
forces operating in Afghanistan is required to allow a clear system of accountability,
particularly with regard to incidents affecting children taking place during
operations involving the troops of ISAF, Operation Enduring Freedom, the Afghan
National Security Forces or other elements present at Bagram Airbase.
60. The Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan, overseen by the United Nations
Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan, pending its full transfer to the Government of
Afghanistan, is the world’s largest and longest-running programme for the removal
of mines and explosive remnants of war. Some 6,000 mine action personnel work
for non-governmental organizations and international private companies. To
increase access to affected areas, the community-based mine clearance approach is
used, by which demining teams are formed from members of affected communities.
Targeted activities are being conducted, with interventions in UNHCR centres near
Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran and the establishment of child-friendly
safe play areas in 22 provinces. Access to physical rehabilitation services is
hindered by many obstacles, including poverty, distance, lack of security and
political divisions. The rehabilitation needs of child mine survivors (as well as those
of other people with disabilities) are seldom met.
C. Attacks on schools and hospitals
61. To tackle the increased security incidents affecting education, in 2006 the
Ministry of Education deployed two school and child protection officers per
province to monitor and improve the school security environment. While some
officers were successful in mobilizing community leaders to initiate a dialogue with
perpetrators of violence, their overall ability has been questioned. Successful
community mobilization initiatives have also taken place. For example, in the
Western Region, in 2007, the Governor held a meeting of religious leaders, tribal
elders and technical departments with the aim of reopening six schools and one
health centre; all the affected facilities reopened and since then no incident has been
reported.
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62. In September 2007, the immunization campaign took advantage of the “Peace
Day”. While UNAMA called for a total cessation of violence, WHO and UNICEF
encouraged all parties to respect the immunization efforts and, as a consequence,
only a few incidents were reported. More than 10,000 vaccinators visited areas in
the districts missed during the year due to security concerns.
D. Sexual violence perpetrated against children
63. Afghan legislation on child abuse, including sexual abuse, is not in line with
the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These issues are mostly covered by the
outdated penal code or brought to local, informal justice mechanisms (for example
through shura or jirga systems), where customary law applies. The limitation of the
Afghan judicial system in investigating and prosecuting perpetrators of sexual
violence and in allocating compensation to survivors perpetuates a culture of silence
and impunity. Although taboo surrounding the subject of sexuality is widespread,
making it difficult to openly address sexual violence, there have been initiatives
with different scopes and focus. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs, assisted by the
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), is developing a database
of cases of violence against women. The database, which unfortunately does not
include abuses against boys, is likely to increase attention to sexual violence in
general and consequently to the incidents perpetrated against children by parties to
the conflict.
VII. Recommendations
64. I urge all anti-government elements who are party to the conflict to
immediately stop the use, exploitation and recruitment of children and recommend
that Afghan National Security Forces develop appropriate age verification
procedures and take appropriate measures to improve the protection of children.
65. In addition I encourage all parties to the conflict to enter into a dialogue with
the country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting with a view to halting grave
violations of children’s rights, as stipulated by the Security Council in its resolution
1612 (2005), and to ensure that information on violations committed against
children in armed conflict is collected and disseminated to all appropriate actors.
66. In this regard, I encourage the Government of Afghanistan to intensify its
efforts to prosecute all perpetrators of crimes committed against children and to
ratify ILO Convention No. 182. I also call upon the Afghan authorities to introduce
legislation aimed at criminalizing the recruitment of children in armed conflict and
to consider enacting legislation necessary to give effect to the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court.
67. I strongly urge the Taliban and other anti-government elements to immediately
cease attacks against civilians, especially children, and civilian objectives. The
United Nations country team in Afghanistan is encouraged to engage with the
Afghan Government on means to advocate the cessation of such attacks. All parties
to the conflict are urged to comply with principles of international law, to recognize
and maintain the neutrality and safety of schools, hospitals, religious institutions,
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including their personnel, as “zones of peace” and to publicly declare an end to such
practices.
68. I call upon international military forces and Afghan National Security Forces
to improve standing operating procedures and rules of engagement, in particular by
including special protection measures pertaining to children.
69. I urge the Government of Afghanistan and international military forces to
ensure due process for all juveniles detained because of their alleged association
with armed groups, regardless of the arresting authority.
70. I further request the Government of Afghanistan and international military
forces to grant the United Nations and human rights monitoring bodies full access to
all their detention facilities, including the National Directorate of Security and the
Bagram Airbase.
71. I condemn in the strongest possible terms the attacks against humanitarian
actors by the Taliban and other anti-government elements, in particular the killings
and abductions, and call upon all parties to respect principles of international
humanitarian and human rights law and to ensure the safety and protection of all
those engaged in humanitarian action. In this regard, I also call upon community
and religious leaders to publicly condemn attacks against humanitarian workers and
to assist in developing appropriate measures for the protection of humanitarian
actors and their programmes.
72. I welcome the efforts of my Special Representative to strengthen the child
protection capacity of UNAMA, including by deploying child protection advisers.
73. I request the United Nations country team and the donor community to provide
additional support to national programmes and initiatives to enhance the protection
of children in Afghanistan.
74. I encourage the Government of Afghanistan to implement more fully laws and
programmes to prevent and punish sexual violence and to support victims, monitor
grave sexual violations against boys as well as girls and work with my team in
Afghanistan to study ways and means of combating harmful practices, including that
of bacha baazi, with the support of Afghan religious leaders and civil society.
75. I call upon the country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting to present a
plan within three months time, on ways and means to interface with Government,
international military forces and other relevant parties to extend the monitoring and
reporting mechanism mandated by Security Council resolution 1612 (2005) to all
conflict areas of Afghanistan.
76. I request respective United Nations country teams and agencies to develop a
regional framework of cooperation and information exchange in order to better
address cross-border issues such as child recruitment and abduction.
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